Lake Pontchartrain Causeway
For as long as I can remember, I have been mildly gephyrophobic, i.e., bridge phobic. As a kid, I particularly dreaded going over the Pontchartrain Causeway, the longest bridge in the world until Thailand’s Bang Na Expressway was completed in 2000. The fear subsided over the years, but reared its ugly head again in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina when we had to make trips with Nathan to Children’s Hospital in New Orleans. The Causeway had sustained damage and looked like it was temporarily pieced together from a giant Erector set. That and the signs urging travelers to drive slowly and make no lane changes for safety reasons reignited my little phobia.
I am watching breaking local news that Popp’s Ferry Bridge in Biloxi has been hit by a barge. A section of the bridge is now missing, and apparently only the bridge tender’s unoccupied car plunged in. The bridge tender was stranded initially, but Mayor A.J. Holloway just reported that she has been rescued and is considerably “shook up.” Let me tell ya’–I’m shook up for her!
Tags: Biloxi Mississippi, bridge phobia, Children's Hospital in New Orleans, gephyrophobia, Hurricane Katrina, Mayor A.J. Holloway, Nathan, Pontchartrain Causeway, Popp's Ferry Bridge
2 Comments on Gephyrophobia
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YES! It did (does?) look like it was pieced together. I’m not normally worried about bridges, but that made me cringe too!
It’s been a while since I’ve crossed that bridge. I hope it’s definitively repaired by the next time we go for Nathan’s checkup. The Erector set patch up gives me the willies.